The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) stood at 6,063.71 as of around 10:20 a.m., up 28.36 points or 0.47 percent from the previous session.
The index had surged more than 2 percent shortly after the open as bargain hunters stepped in following the previous day's 5.46 percent rout, its steepest decline in nearly two months, but gave back most of those gains by mid-morning.
Foreign investors remained net sellers, offloading 134.1 billion won (US$100 million) of KOSPI shares by 10:20 a.m. Institutions bought a net 125.1 billion won, while retail investors sold 152.7 billion won.
The flow suggested the rebound was being supported largely by institutional and program buying rather than a meaningful return of foreign demand after overseas investors drove the previous session's selloff.
Program trading posted net purchases of 204.0 billion won, with non-arbitrage trading recording 213.8 billion won in net buying and arbitrage trading posting 9.8 billion won in net sales.
Semiconductor heavyweights remained in positive territory but surrendered much of their earlier gains.
Samsung Electronics rose 1.08 percent to 234,500 won, while SK hynix gained 0.69 percent to 1,453,000 won as of 10:20 a.m. Both had climbed more sharply shortly after the opening bell.
The early rebound came despite continued losses in U.S. semiconductor stocks overnight. Micron Technology fell 3.62 percent in New York, while U.S.-traded shares of SK hynix dropped 3.19 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slipped 0.23 percent.
That suggested Wednesday's initial gains in Seoul reflected bargain hunting after Tuesday's steep losses rather than a broader turnaround in sentiment toward memory and artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks.
Chip shares have come under pressure amid concerns over the durability of AI-related investment and intensifying competition from Chinese memory makers, including ChangXin Memory Technologies.
The recovery also failed to spread to the secondary market. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell 1.26 percent or 10.51 points to 826.52, moving in the opposite direction from the main board and underscoring the uneven nature of the rebound.
The South Korean won rose 2.6 won to 1,340.4 per dollar, recovering some of its losses from the previous session.
A firmer won and a positive KOSPI pointed to some stabilization following Tuesday's rout, but the sharp retreat from early highs, continued foreign selling and weakness on the KOSDAQ showed that risk appetite remained fragile.
AJP Takeaways
- Early rebound fades: The KOSPI was up 0.47 percent at 6,063.71 as of 10:20 a.m. after climbing more than 2 percent shortly after the open.
- Foreign selling persists: Foreign investors sold a net 134.1 billion won of KOSPI shares, while institutional and program buying helped cushion the retreat.
- Chip bounce loses steam: Samsung Electronics gained 1.08 percent and SK hynix rose 0.69 percent, but both surrendered much of their stronger opening gains as overseas semiconductor weakness lingered.
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